- Upon Rosamund’s departure from the Maiden Voyage Inn, her mother, Tilly, tells her, “Don’t say I never do nothin’ for you. Just don’t you never come back, you hear?” Is sending Rosamund away with Sir Everard an act of kindness? Or purely one of self-interest? What would Rosamund say?
- Why does Rosamund go so willingly with Sir Everard? Would you have done the same?
- Both Sir Everard and Matthew Lovelace use the chocolate house as a way of manipulating each other and seeking revenge. Discuss their motivations. Are their actions justified? Do women in this book seek revenge the way the men do?
- Speaking to Rosamund, Mr. Henderson says, “Good correspondents will check the veracity of what they learn. Many, however, are neither good nor particularly honest and do not . . . According to the authorities most of ’em were printing rubbish—lies, dissenting material, things that undermined the King’s authority . . . While there are many who contest the notion it was lies and believe dissenting’s a good thing . . . the government and the King did not.” What other examples of this have we seen throughout history? Or in our present time?
- How do you think things would have played out had Matthew Lovelace consumed the poisoned chocolate that was meant for him?
- Is Sir Everard a sympathetic or likable character? Did your feelings about him change over the course of the story? How do you think Rosamund felt about him?
- The novel is set against the backdrop of Restoration London, the plague and the Great Fire. How do these historical events drive the action and affect Rosamund’s life? Had you heard of them prior to reading this book?
- What did you make of the revelations in Lady Margery’s letters? What took you by surprise? What did you predict would be in the letters?
- How did Rosamund’s life at Bearwoode differ from her life at Gravesend? How did her time at Bearwoode and Gravesend prepare her for life in London at Blithe Manor and the chocolate house?
- What do you think becomes of Rosamund in the years following the end of the novel? What do you think life is like in the New World?
